Podcasts and Poisioning

18 12 2009

Podcasts are audio or video broadcasts available for downloading from a website to a personal computer or other device. Podcasts are great and easy to understand. The Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC) has great podcasts available educating the general public on unintentional injury prevention.

The following podcast has Dr. Len Paulozzi, Medical Epidemiologist in CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention, offering some poisoning prevention tips for audiences of all ages. Unintentional poisioning was the #2 cause of death in the age group 15-29 years of age. I fall into this age group and was unaware of this before my research.

Tips to avoid prescription drugs and medication poisioning

Follow directions on the label when you give or take medicines. Read all warning labels. Some medicines cannot be taken safely when you take other medicines or drink alcohol.

Turn on a light when you give or take medicines at night so that you know you have the correct amount of the right medicine.

Keep medicines in their original bottles or containers.

Never share or sell your prescription drugs.

Keep opioid pain medications, such as methadone, hydrocodone, and oxycodone, in a safe place that can only be reached by people who take or give them.

Monitor the use of medicines prescribed for children and teenagers, such as medicines for attention deficit disorder, or ADD (SAMHSA 2006).

For additional tips on how to prevent unintentional poisioning, please click the following link.